


Let's Go Far Away

by Cloudpain



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Angst, M/M, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-06
Updated: 2014-03-06
Packaged: 2018-01-14 19:10:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1277668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cloudpain/pseuds/Cloudpain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"But it’s you my love, you’re my land ahoy."</p><p>Everyone knows that merfolk are sailors’ natural born enemies.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let's Go Far Away

_“Yo ho Sebastian, let’s go far away,”  
_

 

  
The smell of brine was crisp in the air and stung Matthew’s nostrils as he ascended the gang plank. Several seagulls wheeled and cried plaintively overhead. He could feel the sun beating down on his skin and smiled in spite of himself. Finally he was 18 and old enough to be trusted on a voyage longer than a couple of days. He had worried that Alfred would never agree to take him along but here he was with a bag on his back containing little more than a change of clothes.  As he reached the top on the gangplank and stepped onto the deck, people were already rushing this way and that moving barrels of supplies down below deck.  This was Alfred’s ship, his pride and joy _Amelia_ as she had been named.  At the top of the tallest mast his brother’s flag fluttered in the wind.  


“Matthew!” Alfred’s voice crowed shortly before he was patted roughly on the back and an arm clapped tightly round his shoulders as his brother fluffed his hair with one big had, “Ready for this little brother? A whole month with not a single woman to coddle you?” He laughed loudly and bounded off, his short blond hair glinting in the sunlight as he hollered, “How slow are you weaklings? The water should have been below deck by now!”  


Mattie murmured after him, “Lack of women _definitely_ won’t be a problem.”  


A gangly red-headed deck hand who had been on the gangplank behind him watched him with a frown as he headed down to his cabin.  


~~~  
  
 _“I hope they didn’t tie up, your hands as tight as mine….”_

 

 

  
They had been out at sea nearly a week Matthew was relishing in the night air.

They had dropped anchor for the night and he leaned over the starboard railing, peering into the dark water below as it lapped against the side of the ship.  The light from the lantern in his hand swung and flickered with each roll as _Amelia_ took the waves.

 Two months ago, though he had never told his brother of it he had gone swimming and got caught in a back current. He had never been a strong swimmer and he had thought on that day that he would never make it to eighteen.  But he had been rescued miraculously. He still had an impression of strong arms wrapping around him as some force propelled him to the surface and onto a rocky outcropping far further along the beach. He had thought he was hallucinating as he coughed up water and stared back at his rescuer who had been floating in the clear blue shallows. Broad shoulders spread beneath long coiling trestles of strawberry blond. Mauve eyes shone bright and inquisitive as they peered up at him. The young Canadian had been instantly captivated, but what made him question his sanity had been the strange finlike appendages in place of ears, slowly opening and closing gills along the sides of his broad neck, the webbed fingers at the end of hands making small circular motions to keep him in one place and a long green gently swaying tail that flowed out beneath him. A merman, here? This close to shore? And he had been rescued by him?

Many trips back to that shore afterward had taught Matthew that he was not indeed deluding himself the merman who, through some stroke of what Matthew believed was miscommunication, had started calling himself Matt, was as real as they came. They had gradually been learning to understand each other. Matthew had fallen in love with his merman and an opportunity to be on a boat knowing that he was constantly near the world where Matt lived was a thrill to him.

Every night Matthew had snuck out late at night like this to come and see Matt and share quiet words with him.

  
He did not have to wait long for Matt to appear before him as the light caught on his hair as he broke the surface. So naturally Matt floated there powerful body constantly moving to keep him tin the same place despite the strength of the tide.

“Greetings my love,” Matthew murmured a smile breaking over his face.

  
“My love,” Matt seemed to agree and Matthew smiled, after all there were a number of nuances of human speech that he didn’t think that Matt had yet managed to grasp.

  
“How was hunting did it go well?” he asked brushing a strand of hair behind his ear as the wind tugged it forward.  


 “Brought fish.” Matt replied and held up a large speared fish that glistened in the light.  


Matthew clapped in delight he couldn’t believe sometimes that Matt was fast enough to spear fish under water.  


“For you.” Matt clarified and tossed the fish up to him.  


Matthew let out a small shriek as the slimy thing flew towards it and he fumbled to catch it, it dropped onto the deck at his feet. Picking it up by the tail he held it aloft sheepishly, calling softly, “Thank you!”  


“What are you – is that, oh god have mercy!”  


Matthew whirled as the sharp voice spoke from behind him and heard the sound of bare feet slapping across the deck. His eyes caught up with the lanky figure of Tommy the red head deck hand as the man unstrapped the warning bell and began to sound an alarm loud peels ringing through the night.  


“What, no stop-”Matthew tried to start forward dropping the fish in his horror. He had tried to be so careful not to attract attention to his meeting with Matt.  


Too soon the crew swarmed out onto deck confused until Tommy took up the shout of, “Merman! Merman on our starboard!”

  
Panicked Matthew whirled back to the edge of the ship and cried, “Flee Matt, you are in danger.”  
Mauve eyes stared up at him in confusion until he flung his hand out and cried “GO!”

  
Matthew knew the moment Alfred was on deck because orders began to cut through the night air, “Catch it! Quickly haul the nets men!”  


“No!” Matthew shouted at them and rushed forward, “No, please, stop! Don’t-”

  
Not a soul paid him any heed as, in the darkness, large fishing nets were being hauled out and men were hurrying about. Alfred was at the front of it all carrying part of the net to cast out. In a fit of desperation Matthew darted forward grabbed the back of the net and yanked it backwards with all his might putting all his body weight into it.

Surprise more than anything helped his cause and there were shocked curses from the men holding it as they were yanked backwards with the momentum of the net, although they kept their feet as Matthew went sprawling onto the wooden deck.  


Tommy who was now hanging peering over the starboard railing called, “It’s getting away – I’ve lost sight of it Captain!”  
  
Expression thunderous, Alfred rounded to find out who had caused them this trouble. As he saw Matthew struggling to his feet on the rocking ship he froze.  Matthew peered uncertainly up at his brother’s face illuminated by some lantern a hand had brought up from below.

 Alfred’s face crumpled and he hissed softly, “Mattie what have you done?”

  
Tommy moved up behind the captain fear open on his face, “We’re in for it now, it will be back with friends and sing us all into watery graves.”  


“That’s not true!” Matthew blurted out angrily he had never gotten along with Tommy and his actions this night only served to poison Matthew’s opinion of him further.  


Turning indigo eyes pleadingly on his brother he said desperately, “He won’t hurt anyone, he’s only here because of me.”  


But Alfred only looked more horrified as the words came out of his mouth. “What?” he said incredulously.

  
“Come to think of it,” Tommy chirped, emboldened in the face of his captain’s wavering, “He was talking to it when I came on deck! He’s been seduced by that creature and a male kind to boot! He’s Like _that._ ”

  
Mutterings of discontent began to grow among the crew.  


“Mattie is this true?” Alfred asked staring at him with a carefully neutral expression in place.  
Matthew looked at him imploringly. Of course he loved Matt he would never deny him but it was certainly no form of bewitchment.

“Al he would never hurt us I swear,” he said softly.  


Alfred winced as if struck and looked away from him.  


Tommy glared at him distaste shining clear in his eyes, “I don’t know that I’m willing to trust a deceitful man-lover not to bring tragedy to us on this voyage. If the creature is following him there’s only one way to stop it coming back!”  


There were murmurs of agreement among the men and Matthew felt his heart sink.  


“Send him to meet his cursed creature!”  


Someone piped up and another, “Save us from his damned fate!”  


“Al?” Matthew whispered.  


His brother said nothing slowly turned away as his men took up cries.

 “A traitor’s death as he brought this trouble on us all!  The Plank, the Plank, the Plank!” the crew started to inch forward surrounding Matthew who looked fearfully toward his brother.  


“Alfred!” he shouted.  


 His brother ignored him and turned to Tommy and aid stiffly, “Bind him.”  


Tommy moved forward to do the honours all too eagerly and Matthew’s disbelief was so stark that he didn’t even bother to struggle. Someone brought forward a sizeable sandbag to add weight.  
As the rope cut into the skin of his wrists the red head glared at Matthew and muttered, “I knew you’d be trouble the minute I first laid eyes on you.”  
  
A blur of moments later and Matthew found himself shuffling closer to the end of the plank. He swayed unsteadily, the sandbag tied to his wrists clutched awkwardly to his chest. One good swell of the ocean, and he would topple right into the icy black depths of the water stretching out beneath him.

  
Dazedly he glanced back at the ship to where his brother stood and saw pain shimmering in his brother’s bright blue eyes. The second their eyes locked Alfred looked away as if ashamed Matthew felt a sudden swell of rage in his chest. _Coward_ he thought _letting these superstitious fools dictate everything to you._

Angrily he turned back to the ocean and stepped off the end of the plank.  


He plummeted into the cold water below. It encased him so suddenly it was a shock to the system and it took him a moment before he began to struggle to kick his way to the surface. For a second his head broke the surface and he gasped in a lungful of air but all too soon the weight of the water seeping into his clothes and the sandbag taking on water began the drag at him making his limbs feel like lead, and without the use of his arms he sank under the waves.  


He drifted downward almost slowly complete silence surrounded him and he looked up as the moonlight danced as it filtered through the waves. This was probably what Matt saw every day.  It was beautiful and ultimately serene, a stark contrast to the burning pressure in his lungs.  


As he struggled to hold in his last breath he saw something hurtling through the water toward him. He wondered vaguely if he were about to become a snack for a shark.

A Second later long red tinged hair filled his view, and Matt’s face was floating before him softly illuminated by the light of the moon. The merman looked desperate and grabbed at Matthew trying to tug him upwards but struggling under all of the added weight. There were no rocks for Matt to prop him up on this time and he doubted he would even make it to the surface. As the mermaid released him and swam round in front, Matthew tried to smile at him as bubbles began to escape his lips. Matt’s panic stricken expression intensified as he glanced at the air leaving Matthews lungs and he grabbed frantically at the ropes, tugging at them with considerable strength. But his webbed fingers kept slipping on the rope which was slick and swollen tight with the water and weight of the bag against Matthew’s wrists.  


 It was a hopeless task.  


Matthew shuddered as the last of the air escaped his lungs and he drew in a huge breath of water.

Desperately Matt grabbed his face and pressed his lips against Matthew’s for the first and last time.

Matthew realised that perhaps at least one of the nuances of human speech had not slipped past Matt as his fading vision alighted on the merman’s lips forming the words _My Love,_ just as Mattie’s world went dark.

  
A keening cry not unlike a whale’s song resounded hauntingly through the ocean and whistled by _Amelia’s_ mast, borne on the sad wind that fluttered that star spangled banner of red white and blue in the cold empty night sky.

 

  
 _  
“We deserve much better than we’ve had.”_


End file.
